Wednesday, September 1st, 2021
Border with Iran and Pakistan too
Taliban beat women in the street
Since the international troops left Afghanistan, refugees have only been able to travel overland. While eyewitnesses report how the Taliban publicly beat up women in Kabul, thousands are waiting at the borders with Pakistan and Iran to leave. In vain, the land is walled in.
After the end of the airlift from Afghanistan, many people dare to flee by land. Thousands of people crowded the junction with Islam Kala on the border with Iran, eyewitnesses reported. At a border crossing to Pakistan not far from the Chaiber Pass, a large number of people are waiting for the gates to be opened, said a Pakistani official. A former US military official said that overland connections are risky but are currently the only way to escape.
Within the country, there are increasing signs that the Taliban, despite assurances to the contrary, continue to massively disregard women’s rights. When long queues formed in front of the banks in Kabul on Tuesday, Taliban fighters hit women with sticks, reported a 22-year-old. “It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this, it scared me a lot.”
After the radical Islamic Taliban came to power in mid-August, over 122,000 people were flown out. According to the UN, up to half a million people could flee by the end of the year. “I hear on the news and from relatives that thousands are waiting on the Afghan border with Pakistan,” said a man who holds a US passport and has worked for the American military. His attempts to get into one of the evacuation machines with his six daughters were unsuccessful, he explained with the help of a translator. The US embassy could only promise him, but not his children, to leave the country. His daughters are not US citizens, his wife died of Corona in July. Hussain, who refused to give his last name for security reasons, is considering fleeing to Tajikistan.
“The land is practically walled in”
The neighboring country in Central Asia has promised to accept 100,000 refugees. According to reports from private evacuation missions, many Afghans are also drawn to Uzbekistan. The country has announced that it will allow Americans and possibly other nationals to pass through. How many people both ex-Soviet republics have already allowed into the country was initially unclear. According to information from diplomatic circles, Pakistan, where hundreds of thousands of refugees from Afghanistan have already found shelter, last issued 2,000 Afghans one-month transit visas. The people in Afghanistan had worked for foreign institutions and now feared sanctions by the Taliban, according to the diplomats.
Regarding the current situation, a US representative who had previously helped Americans and Afghans threatened by the Taliban on their way to Kabul airport and there in evacuation planes said: “The country is practically walled in”. The route to the border also carries great risks, especially since, according to US military circles, the Taliban have set up additional checkpoints on the main roads to Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The Islamists forbid women from traveling without a male companion.
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